punkguins

Today I went to change my oil and oil filter as my '14 is about to hit 30K miles. I have watched several oil changing videos but couldn't get my floor jack to the center point (jack is too high) so I jacked up the car at the frame support on the driver's side. Once it was jacked up, I lowered it onto the jack stand and heard the stand start to indent the metal (see pic). I immediately jacked the car back up and removed the jack stand.

Can anyone tell me what I dented in and is it a big deal?

I moved the jack stand to the center point and lowered the car onto the jack there and was successful in changing the oil and filter. The only regret I have is the jackstand placement. I have already driven the car and nothing seems amiss. One other question, I bought Mobile 1 0w-20 in the 5 quart jugs and since it takes 6.6, I estimated the last 1.6 quarts but it's a bit over the max. Any suggestions on how to remove extra oil or just leave it?

SC300Es

I wouldn't worry about the dent. As far as the oil you can always go under and let some out.

Ed

bearcav

I always jack from the pinch weld and put jackstands where the LCA meets the subframe or other fixed suspension points. The suspension is built to take the load of the car.

As for the oil, how much over and when did you measure? If you measured right after the engine ran and it still high, probably take some out. If its been sitting and its a little high, probably not a big deal. Too much oil generally burns off but damages the cat. Wayy too much oil may aerate/foam and engine could be starved of oil. Its unlikely you overfilled that much. Either way, nothing catastrophic that you wouldn't notice.

vinnier6

How much is a bit over the max?

punkguins

Here is a phone shot of the stick. It's the brighter reflection that shows how high over (sort of). It's not exactly where it is but taking this photo was thru many attempts because it's so clean right now. It's just about at the brightest reflection.
As to the previous poster on placing it at the LCA, can you look at the other photo (that I stole from another poster), where do you place the jack at the LCA? Can you put a circle at the points and resend?

bearcav

did you take that pic after it sat parked for a while, if so. no worries. if its when it was running, i'd prob drain a little so you don't damage the longevity of the cat.

for the LCA, see attached pic.

This is a VW but the same principle applies:You can see the chunky subframe (silver/aluminum) and how the saddles on the jackstands fit perfectly into the LCA press-fitting.
http://dataton.net/vw/GTI_jacking/06...jack_point.JPG
http://dataton.net/vw/GTI_jacking/ca...ack_stands.jpg

edit: just realized the pic of the car you posted doesnt look like a GS...those LCA's should be silver/aluminum and not stamped steel...is this the underside of a 3GS or an IS? regardless, the red circles still apply, it'll be in that area,

punkguins

I took the pic from this thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sus...t-fit-3gs.html
I got it by typing "undercarriage of gs 350"....it looks to be an IS F-Sport so you have sharp eyes! I went beneath my car this morning and

The oil level was after car parked in garage all nite. It has seen 6 miles since oil change yesterday. So, I guess I'm good as-is.

This morning, I'm thinking of making car ramps so my 3 ton jack can use the owner's manual suggested jack (top pic, inverted happy face). I ..want to jack up the front at that point but it is currently unreachable due to my Craftsman 3 ton jack being too high. Once, I have car ramps, I figured I would drive it up, jack it up at that mid point and then lower onto jackstands at the pinch points. I want to be able then jack the back (which easily has clearance for the bottom owner's manual picture) and then place two more jackstands at the rear pinch points and basically have the car level on four jack stands. I want to change my brake fluid as my dealer wants $210 for that.

I found these this morning to add to the jackstands: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VMWHRSI?psc=1
Don't know if they are durable enough to be placed onto of my Craftsman jackstands (they have that claw type top). The puck might get too much load on contact points and break. What do you think?

I took pics beneath my Lexus and couldn't find a spot like your VW pics. I added my pics. Do you see it in there?

bearcav

You're probably fine, i wouldn't bother going under the car for that little overfill...but if you're making ramps and putting the car in the air, etc. just open the drain bolt for a second and close it back up it'll bring the level down to normal.

The puck from amazon goes into your hydraulic jack to help maintain your pinch weld, not the jack stands. If you want to cover your jack stands, you need these:
https://www.amazon.com/Prothane-19-1.../dp/B000NSMXS6

Hockey pucks work just as well, google "hockey puck jackstand". You can use the pucks to make both the pinch weld adapter and a jack stand adapter.

The problem i suspect you'll run into with the 'ramp & jack the front then the back' idea is as the front goes up, ground clearance in the back goes down and your jack won't fit anymore. But, ramps are useful so I'd make them anyway. Also, i'm not a fan of using the pinch welds to hold cars up, they tend to collapse etc. I highly suggest placing padded jack stands on subframe or static suspension components. Those components are specifically designed to take large loads.

You found both of the points where the LCA meets the subframe in your 3rd pic, i'd use the chunkier of the 2 points, see attached.

Dkp1111

This is where you should put your jack stand. Good luck and becareful whenever you are under the car.

punkguins

First, thanks for all the great suggestions, especially from Bearcav.

I made the ramps today out of scrap lumber I had in my garage. Not pretty, but they work. Used an old header beam and cut it into four pieces and then slotted the edge of one header so it could fit 3/4" plywood. I used wood screws for attach. Then I just ripped scraps and used woods crews to hold it all together. I actually first tried it with just the plywood and it worked but thought that over time, this would add more support. At the top of the ramp, I get 14" of clearance from the ground at the front bumper. More than enough to place the jack at the circled spot that I call the frown face. The third picture is the frame support where I plan on placing the jackstands for the front. That should work. I can get those jack covers for this spot.

So, the car ramps are just to get the front end up for my 3 ton jack to the frown face and then get the car on jackstands. I assume the car could be resting on them for extra support but I really want to rely on the jackstands.

New questions: I don't know the best place for the rear jackstands. If you don't suggest the pinch points, maybe you can suggest something better for the rear jackstands. I still haven't jacked up my rear but am relying on the Owner's manual for the correct spot. The manual is silent on jackstand placement. I saw the previous poster's pics but those look like pinch points. Is there an analog for the frame support I show in the picture?

bearcav

i use pinch weld on the rears because there isnt a great spot. Most of parts of the GS multi-link suspension/rear sub frame move or are too close to the centerline of the car to safely support the car from tipping over. You could try where the spring cups meet the subframe in the rear but they may be too close together.

For the fronts, i still stand behind LCA placement. Lexus may say pinch weld up but I'll take a sub-frame component and save my pinch welds for road side emergencies..

punkguins

Yeah, I have been reading threads how then pinch welds get all messed up after repeated use. I did examine the pinch welds below my Lexuss and you can see the metal surrounding it is darker, showing it is re-inforced between the two notches. This implies Lexus did expect jacks to go on those reinforced portions, not the actual pinch weld.

I'm thinking this weekend of creating my own jack cover out of wood from 1x1s but running a groove across the top of it so it won't put pressure on the pinch weld. I'll let you know how it turns out. The jack cover would then act like the grooved hockey puck for regular jacks but will be customized for my jack stands.

vinnier6

Your oil level is fine

er34

Just get a regular hockey puck and use that as the interface between your jack and the jack point. Metal on metal is never good. Don't bother with those special pre-slotted pucks, they don't do anything more than a regular puck since the load still rests on the "flat" part. After a few uses, your regular puck will be grooved anyways.

For jack stands, use a block of wood. or a stack of cardboard.

punkguins

Oil filter question. I went to Amazon and purchased 5 Toyota 04152-YZZA1 filters after my last change and noticed these look smaller than what I just put in. I went thru old Club Lexus oil filter exchanges and am not sure if I should exchange or not. Seems like for my model ('14 GS 350 RWD), I should have purchased YZZA3. Can someone confirm what I need? The YZZA1 seem shorter...